There are several patents in which sulfated ethoxylated alcohol anionic detergents are discussed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,969, Rothanavibhata et al., issued Dec. 29, 1987, discloses a fabric softening heavy duty liquid detergent composition of a density in the range of 1.15 to 1.35 g/ml at room temperature, a pH in the range of 9.5 to 11, and a viscosity in the range of 1,000 to 5,000 centipoises, which does not increase to more than 5,000 centipoises on thirty days quiescent storage at room temperature, which comprises sodium linear alkylbenzene sulfonate, sodium alkylpolyethoxy sulfate, sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium carbonate, bentonite, sodium polyacrylate, and water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,818, Letton et al., issued Mar. 9, 1982, discloses heavy duty liquid detergents containing enzymes and an enzyme-stabilizing system comprising calcium ion and a low molecular weight carboxylic acid or salt, preferably a formate. The compositions can contain various surfactants, including the anionic and nonionic surfactants herein. Examples 1 and 13 disclose compositions containing C.sub.12-13 alkylpolyethoxylate(6.5) and C.sub.12-14 alkylpolyethoxy(3) sulfate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,078, Gilbert et al., issued May 17, 1977, discloses liquid dishwashing detergents containing ethoxylated decyl alcohol sulfates having a high monoethoxylate content. Ethoxylated alcohol nonionic surfactants can be included in the compositions as optional ingredients, but are not exemplified.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,285, Kebanli, issued Dec. 25, 1984, discloses heavy duty liquid detergent compositions containing ethoxylated alcohol nonionic surfactant, a solvent system comprising water or mixtures thereof with a certain alcohol or polyol, and a sulfated approximately monoethoxylated fatty alcohol.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,219, Hughes, issued Mar. 26, 1985, discloses heavy duty liquid detergents containing sulfonate and alcohol ethoxylate sulfate anionic surfactants, ethoxylated nonionic surfactant, optional quaternary ammonium, amine or amine oxide surfactants, saturated fatty acid, polycarboxylate builder, a neutralization system comprising sodium, potassium and preferably low levels of alkanolamines, and a solvent system comprising ethanol, polyol and water.
There are a number of patents which describe the use of smectite-type clays in detergent compositions as textile softeners. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,647, Storm et al., issued Dec. 13, 1977, in which the detergent compositions, although they clean well, require large contents of clay for effective softening. The use of clay together with a water-insoluble cationic compound in an electrically conductive metal salt as a softening composition adapted for use with anionic, nonionic, zwitterionic and amphoteric surfactants has been described in British Pat. No. 1,483,627, published Aug. 24, 1977.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,537, Baskerville, Jr., et al., issued Feb. 3, 1976, contains a review of optional clay additives in detergent compositions.
British Patent Application No. 87-22844, Raemdonck et al., published Nov. 4, 1987, discloses granular and liquid detergent compositions containing a smectite-type clay fabric softener and a polymeric clay flocculating agent, from which the clay particles are more effectively deposited onto the fabrics during laundering.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,668, Hartman, issued Oct. 12, 1976, discloses clays as suspending agents for use in stable, false body hard surface cleaners.
Clay is used as a thickening and corrosion protection agent for preferred usage in highly alkaline thickened aqueous liquid hypohalite compositions in U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,849, Leikhim, issued Sept. 26, 1978.
British Patent Applications Nos. 1,077,103 and 1,077,104, published July 26, 1967, disclose amine-anionic surfactant ion pair complexes useful as antistatic agents. These complexes are applied directly to the fabric from an aqueous carrier. There is no suggestion in either of these references that such complexes could be added to detergent compositions to impart fabric care benefits through-the-wash. In fact, such complexes are delivered in solubilized form and therefore could not be delivered through-the-wash.
Fatty acid-amine ion pair complexes in granular detergents are disclosed in European Patent Application No. 133,804, Burckett-St. Laurent et al., published June 3, 1985.
More recently, in European Patent Application No. 87202159.7, filed Nov. 6, 1987, amine-anionic compound ion pair complex particles having an average particle diameter of from about 10 microns to about 300 microns are disclosed. These particles provide excellent through-the-wash softening without significantly impairing cleaning performance. Furthermore, European Patent Application No. 87202159.7 discloses that ion pair particles which are made from lower chain length alkyl amines impart improved processing characteristics and improved chemical stability in liquid detergents.
It is an object of the present invention to provide heavy duty liquid detergent compositions which provide excellent fabric conditioning benefits as well as excellent cleaning performance.
It is also an object of this invention to provide heavy duty liquid detergent compositions which are homogeneous suspensions and stable at room temperature.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide heavy duty liquid detergent compositions which have a relatively stable viscosity less than 600 centipoises.
It is still another object of this invention to provide heavy duty liquid detergent compositions which maintain good static control performance over time.